After the Triangle Shirtwaist fire the factory bosses were tried for mass murder but ultimitely found not guilty. Mary Domsky-Abrams told of her disappointment with the ruling saying “there was no proper measure of justice for [the] lives of workers. The Triangle company was found not guilty, though it had been responsible in the fire that snuffed out 147 lives.”1 She tells of the vulnerability of immigrant workers who had few protections for their safety or care for their value as workers. The garment industry took advantage of the poor Jewish immigrant garment workers because of their newness in the United States, urgency to make money to support themselves and create a new home from very little or nothing, and their often limited understanding of English. At a gathering after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Jewish immigrant worker turned labor activist Rose Schneiderman, voiced this fact articulating,
This is not the first time girls have been burned alive in the city. Every week I must learn of the untimely death of one of my sister workers. Every year thousands of us are maimed. The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred. There are so many of us for one job it matters little if 146 of us are burned to death.2
She talks of the unsafe conditions and vulnerability of poor immigrant workers. So many immigrants worked to create new lives for themselves in the United States, while contributing greatly to American society. Yet, both Jewish and Italian immigrant workers who weren’t considered White, fully American and seen as the Other because of their religion, physical appearance and little understanding of English were so poorly valued that their lives were put at risk.
1. Mary Domsky-Abrams, interview by Leon Stein, in person. Trianglefire.Ilr.Cornell.Edu, 2018. https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/survivorInterviews/MaryDomskyAbrams.html.
2. Rose Schneiderman, “We Have Found You Wanting,” Trianglefire.Ilr.Cornell.Edu, 2018. https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/testimonials/ootss_RoseSchneiderman.html.